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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Robert Louis Stevenson is today best known for what type of writings?
(a) Diary entries.
(b) Essays.
(c) Poems.
(d) Novels.

2. How can the writings of H. L. Mencken BEST be described?
(a) Irreverent.
(b) Centered on death.
(c) Centered on race issues.
(d) Somber.

3. Who wrote "The Execution of Tropmann?"
(a) Ivan Turgenev.
(b) Carlos Fuentes.
(c) Hubert Butler.
(d) William Hazlitt.

4. What does Tanizaki talk about in "In Praise of Shadows?"
(a) The dying of the old ways.
(b) The birth of his daughter.
(c) The intensity of beauty.
(d) The horror of blindness.

5. Under what circumstances did Walter Benjamin die?
(a) He committed suicide.
(b) He fell off a building.
(c) He died of old age.
(d) He was shot by a soldier.

Short Answer Questions

1. What tragedy did Seymour Krim endure as a child?

2. What nickname is given to Max Beerbohm?

3. Who wrote "Beside the Nore?"

4. When does the execution take place in "The Execution of Tropmann?"

5. Who is Hsun addressing in his essay "Death?"

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Ivan Turgenev's opinion of capital punishment? How did Turgenev believe servants should be treated?

2. What is the subject of E.B. White's "Once More to the Lake"? What is the message White relays about the state of the lake?

3. What subject dominated the writings of George Orwell? Name three specific things George Orwell wrote about.

4. What style is James Thurber known for? What was a common theme in Thurber's writing?

5. What is Orwell's "Such, Such Were the Joys..." about? What complaints does Orwell have about the subject?

6. What two works of G. K. Chesterton are included in this volume? What are the subjects of these essays?

7. M.F.K. Fisher is known for writing primarily about what subject? Beyond this subject, what biographical details has she confronted in her writing?

8. How does Seymour Krim's life compare to Mary McCarthy's? How did Krim's childhood impact his writing?

9. What is Robert Louis Stevenson best known for today?

10. What tone does Mary McCarthy use in "My Confession?" How does she approach herself as well as the subjects of her essays?

(see the answer keys)

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